Hareshaw Linn Waterfall, Northumberland
Hareshaw Linn walk is only 3 miles, 1.5 miles there and back! Although it is classed as a moderate walk due to certain paths, rocky stairs, and uneven terrain, it is fairly easy to complete and easy for the family. There were many families there when we walked this walk with multiple picnic areas.
If you’re looking for a small picnic area for your family after half a mile or maybe even less, there is a large picnic area where you could paddle near a small waterfall. It’s a further mile to the Hareshaw Linn waterfall where we enjoyed our lunch with others with views of the large waterfall.
General Information
Length: 3 miles / 4.8km
OS Explorer: OL42
Postcode for car park: NE48 2DA
What3Words: ///uproot.caravan.freezers
Where is Hareshaw Linn Waterfall
Once you arrive (instructions below), there is a car park in the small town on Bellingham. Bellingham is just at the start of Northumberland national park, 45-minute drive from Newcastle-Upon-Tyne city centre and 50-minute drive from Morpeth.
Hareshaw Linn has its own care park, however is small. There are places to park on the side of the road if the car park is full just be mindful of other houses and cars.
How to Get There
From Newcastle
If travelling west out of Newcastle, you will drive on the a69. The road itself drives across the country towards Carlisle. Once you reach Corbridge (you would turn left at the roundabout) turn right onto the a68 travelling north.
Option 1
Drive over the next roundabout with Errington coffee house, continuing on the a68. Once you’ve passed the reservoir on the right-hand side, there is a turning on the left towards Bellingham and Redesmouth
The road then bends round to the left. You can then continue on this road and drive into Bellingham. Once you reach Bellingham Garage on your left-hand-side, there is a right turning towards Hareshaw Linn car park.
Option 2
Instead of driving over the roundabout, turn left, towards Chollerford. The roads bend left and right but from here its pretty much one straight road towards Bellingham. Once you enter Bellingham, after the Co-op the roads bends round to the right. A few hundred metres there is a turning opposite the garage up towards the car park.
Walking to Hareshaw Linn Waterfall
Once you’ve parked in the car park, there is a paved path heading north towards the waterfall. The car park area used to be an ironworks back in the 1800s. Continue on the path up a small hill where there is a gate. On the left there is an old dam but we could barely see it due to the amount of growth of plants and weeds.
Once you’ve continued along the path there is an open picnic area. There is a small waterfall here for adults and children to enjoy. There are multiple picnic benches to sit and eat and could end you walk here if you wish. The small waterfall here is easily explored but can be slippery, so be careful with your footing.
There are some steps to climb at the back of the picnic area. You can then walk through the kissing gate into the wooded path. There are multiple different trees including oak, hazel, elm, and ash.
The path walks directly to the waterfall. The terrain is quite different in different parts of the path. Including stone, flat, mud, and rocks. So be careful and wear sensible shoes. If it has been raining, I could also imagine it could be very muddy in parts.
You’re meant to stay on the path, but there are multiple parts where you can walk down to the river again which is apart of the walk. More small waterfalls. Stagnant water is shallow but the reflections on the water are amazing.
On the way to the waterfall, you will cross 4 bridges and they are labelled so. Once you reach the waterfall, you need good shoes and a stable footing to explore. You can stay at the top and admire the waterfall from there, however, we crossed the river and sat on the side and ate our lunch.
Once you’ve finished exploring around the waterfall and maybe even having a little swim, you can start heading back. The route back is exactly the same, so just retrace your steps back to the car park.
Walking up to Hareshaw Linn waterfall is a moderate 3-mile walk there and back. We often prefer to do circular walks but this has been on my list to walk for a while and did not disappoint.
Easy to walk with dogs and children, with picnic areas and the ability to make the walk shorter if you wish to play in the water and the waterfalls!
